Bleeding Heart
by meloDRAMAmatic
Summary: Genma has never been able to ignore someone who needed his help. Rescuing two kids in need is pretty typical for him. Even trapped in hostile, unfamiliar territory while exhausted and injured. Their family returning the favor? Unusual and hard to accept, but Genma is in no position to turn down help. (Avengers AU Post CA:WS)
1. Chapter 1

Genma can deal with pain. In his personal experience, the emotional wrecks are always worse than the physical, and he has intimate experience with both. The problem is he would never forgive himself if the kids in the cell across were tortured. Especially with how visibly panicked they are. They're really only a few years younger than him, but they are also clearly civilians, given the lack of developed chakra. Not that anyone in this crazy place had developed chakra. No, it's just weird weapons and tools that seemed to mimic jutsu.

Judging by the kids in the cell, this place does have something like kekkei genkai. That, weirdly, does not require chakra. Either way, the kids are untrained, panicked, and clearly being held against their will. The part of him that adopts people, and feeds them, and looks after them, and keeps them safe; cries out to save these kids. The part of him raised in a village that was founded to minimize conflict, especially conflict over bloodlines, is in complete agreement. The part of him that slit throats in the dark on orders, is just wondering how much he wanted their captors to _hurt_ before they go.

There are many avenues of escape open to him, the question is: which one gets the kids out without being harmed? If he didn't have to worry about the kids, he would get his stuff, quietly kill everyone, and work from there. But the kids mean having civilians that can't keep up, kekkei genkai or no. Genma also can't communicate with the kids properly. It had been one of the things that gave away that he was no longer in the Elemental Countries. Only one of the guards had spoken anything close to his language, but it was a strange variant that didn't make sense.

Genma noticed his wandering thoughts. Probably a concussion from his last meeting with the guards. Another difficulty in this escape is factoring in his current physical limitations. Minor injuries mostly, but broken fingers limits jutsu to the ones with simple handseals. The chakra exhaustion is further limiting. Concussion on top of hunger and dehydration is both disorienting and means anything too complicated is a horrible idea.

Subtle isn't going to happen. Genma doesn't have it in him right now to get two civilians out without being noticed. Loud and fast it is, then.

* * *

Wanda is terrified. Not as close to a panic attack as Pietro is, but still terrified. She is also furious. Mostly at HYDRA, but also at herself. She should have known that the villain the Avengers were fighting was a decoy. She should never have let herself get isolated from the others. HYDRA grunts pouring out of alleys and cars and stunning her from behind was an embarrassing way to get kidnapped. Having Pietro see it, then panic and have the same thing happen to him, that made her want to hurt people.

The cell they had been thrown in was made of something that prevented her from affecting anything outside it. And she had tried. The only saving grace was that they hadn't been separated yet. But judging by the man across the hall, it's going to get worse. He doesn't seem to speak any of the same languages she does, so she can't ask, but Wanda knows when someone has been beaten.

The man in the other cell seems to have come to a decision. He points at himself and says "Genma." Then he points at her, then Pietro, with a questioning look on his face. Realization cutting through fear and anger, Wanda points to herself, "Wanda" then her brother, "Pietro." She keeps her other arm wrapped around her brother's shoulders. The man nods and says something that starts with their names. Judging by tone and expression, he is trying to be reassuring. It would have worked, had the man not looked badly beaten. Kindness and determination, that's what she sees in his eyes. She hopes whatever he was about to do will not get him more hurt.

* * *

First step, set the fingers. It hurts, and the (fairly) quiet cracks of his bones being pulled into place alarm the kids (Wanda and Pietro; siblings, not lovers, judging by facial similarities and body language). But better to set them now than wait. He would still leave jutsu as a last resort, but he can actually hold weapons now. Next step, get out of the cell.

He would normally just use the hiraishin to get to his gear, but he hasn't seen enough of the base to get back to the kids. And he isn't good enough with the solo version yet, to take both kids with him. He can't plant hiraishin seals without tools or set-up (Minato-sama's instant-application of seals was an art form, and would take Tsunade-level chakra control). Thankfully, he can improvise an explosive seal. It won't be very powerful – he doesn't have the chakra – but he doesn't need it to be.

Using some of his blood, he sketches a seal on the lock. Then he moves back a pace and triggers it. He swings the door open and starts drawing on the lock of the kids' cell. The girl (Wanda!) is surprised, but the boy (Pietro!) seems to still be in shock. The noise of the lock shattering is loud enough to attract attention. Genma knows from earlier observation that there is a three minute delay between a disturbance, and some of the guards arriving in the cell block. For a shinobi, three minutes is all the time in the world.

Pietro is more responsive, once out of the cell. Wanda seems ready to destroy their captors. He tucks the kids against the wall, to the side of the door. There will be at least six guards coming, but no more than eight. Genma had counted the chakra signatures. He is by no means a sensor, but the only living things around are people. Even if their chakra coils are completely untrained and have less flow than even civilian children. He has the metal shards of the lock, the sharpest ones, between his functional fingers. Positioning himself in the center of the corridor, a few paces from the door, he waits for the guards to enter.

* * *

Wanda keeps herself between Pietro and the door. She wonders how Genma's ability works, considering the cell didn't prevent whatever he did to break it open. He still looks bad, even though he's geared up to face the guards. She's still getting chills, from the sounds his fingers had made. The look on his face, in that moment, had reminded her of Steve. A determined ' _this is going to be bad, but it will be worse if I don't_ ' mixed with the tired _'I must do this, because no one can do it for me_.' Steve seems to be tired a lot, lately. The clatter of guards coming forces her to pay attention.

She wants to tell Genma to take cover, but she is painfully aware that she has to defend Pietro, for now. Too busy staving off a panic attack to fight. There is confidence and protectiveness in Genma's mind and it's comforting. The confidence seems justified, too.

The guards don't even have time to realize she and her brother are there. A flick of Genma's fingers, and the front three guards fall, glints of metal and blood at their throats. Wanda hexes the two in back.

Genma does … something complicated that would impress Natasha, and the last two are down. They didn't even have time to pull the trigger. Wanda is almost disappointed.

Then Genma is there. He gently taps Pietro on the shoulder and says something quiet and soothing. Even without understanding the words, it's comforting. He gently positions them into a line, himself leading. In simple gestures, Wanda learns she's in back and is to keep her twin between them. It makes sense; less emotional now, Steve's tactical training is filtering back in.

Genma leads them through the corridors. She again wonders what his abilities are. He seems to know where he is going, but occasionally he'll stop. It almost seems like he's listening, but from the feel of his mind, it is more like he's _reaching_ with a sense she can't comprehend. Whatever it is, he knows when the guards are coming, and seems to have a direct goal.

Studying the feel of that _reaching_ , Wanda tries to imitate it. It takes a few minutes, but she starts to become sensitive to the feel of approaching minds. Her range is limited to a dozen feet or so, and she gets no real details, but it is useful. Maybe, with practice, she can expand it? They reach a door that she can feel no minds behind. Keycard access. Genma tries the knob anyway. It doesn't open, of course.

Genma looks at her, and puts a finger to his lips. Between his expression and the emotions she can feel, she's almost amused. _'Now don't tell anyone, but I've got a surprise.'_ It was a feeling she got off Tony and Clint (and Bruce) before they set off a prank. He bites his thumb till he draws blood and uses it to sketch something on the lock. With a start, Wanda realizes this was what he did to get them out of the cells. Whatever he drew was precise, though the symbols mean nothing to her. He gestures for them to step back, then does so himself. Genma folds damaged fingers into a position, and with a word, the lock explodes.

* * *

Genma is so relieved that all his things were kept in the same room. He hadn't felt his seals spread out, but that had only meant the majority of his senbon and kunai were in the same place. Being separated from his vest and pouches had been worse than the beatings. He was glad to see they hadn't taken or broken anything. Even his scrolls were still in place. Granted, they were rearranged like they had been searched, but not one senbon was missing!

He pulls a soldier pill from his kit. It won't last long – explosives seals take too much chakra – but he needs to get the kids out fast. The Hiraishin seals among his things guided him this far. He is going to have to rely on memory and intuition from now on.

He sees jackets and shoes that seem to be the childrens'. They aren't uniforms for anyone here, and the color scheme seems to match the rest of the kids' outfits. Genma grabs them and points them toward the kids till Wanda catches on. The jackets are armored almost like his vest, but with few pockets and no mesh reinforcement that he can feel. Less flexible too.

Pietro is calm enough to react a little now. Genma hopes the boy has a quiet, calm place to decompress. He knows old trauma when he sees it. The kid is in for a rough time once they get out (because not getting out is not an option).

This place doesn't make much sense at all. Wanda seems to have some mental ability similar to the Yamanaka, but Genma can't figure out how that tied into the red jutsu-like things she had thrown at the guards. Genma knows mind readers. His jounin-sensei was Akimichi, which meant Genma had spent almost equal time with his sensei's Yamanaka and Nara counterparts. He'd learned enough about their techniques to recognize the feel of them.

Genma's thoughts are wandering again. Refocusing, he assesses the kids. Much as he would like to give Pietro more time, they can't afford it. Nudging them back into the defensive patrol formation, Genma went back to getting them out. It had taken time and meditation, but Genma had pinpointed where chakra signatures entered and exited the base. He just has to find it in person, with two civilians in tow, in hostile territory, with inconvenient injuries, overextended chakra, and no real plan after "get the kids back to their clan/village-equivalent."

Sadly, this still isn't the worst, or the craziest, situation he's had to work through. The Sage must be on their side, because they meet minimum resistance on the way to the exit. Nothing a few well-thrown senbon can't solve. Guards tried to sneak up from behind once, but Genma sensed them coming. He suspects Wanda did too, but she must have a shorter range. Her not-jutsu takes care of them pretty fast. Pietro's not-kekkai genkai turns out to be speed. Fast enough that Genma almost wants to see how Gai would compare in a race.

Genma is really missing Gai right now. He wants to be home. Wandering thoughts. Focus. His hands aren't shaking. (They never do. It's why he's so good at what he does.) They probably should be; the rest of him is shaking. He's going to crash soon. They'll make the exit in two more turns. There are different sounds up ahead. Fighting. Someone coming to rescue the kids? Sage, Genma hopes so. He's tired, but he can't rest till they're safe.

He keeps the kids behind them as the exit comes into view, gesturing for them to keep quiet. Hope is great, but it doesn't guarantee mission success. He has a kunai in one hand, the other bracing it. Senbon aren't an option, when the edges of his vision are wavering, and he doesn't know his allies well. There is a guard with his back to him at the entrance. Killing him would be more efficient, but Genma's tired and the kids have been traumatized enough. Handle of the kunai plus the back of the skull equals cleared doorway. The exit is chaos.

There is a swarm of guards attempting to take down a group. Judging by the kids' reactions (crying out in joy and jumping in to help) it's their people. Kids aren't safe yet, guards need to be taken down. Genma keeps going. Some of the kids' group are wearing outfits _Gai_ would consider too much (Gai does understand stealth, under certain circumstances). Weirdest thing is, Genma thinks he can understand what the flying blonde in a cape is yelling. He's missing Gai again; caped blonde speaks almost as outlandishly. Assuming Genma isn't having auditory hallucinations.

Genma almost doesn't notice when the fighting stops. He does though, and checks to see if the kids are alright. From the looks of it, guy with the bow is their not-sensei. Genma knows a Chouza-sensei style " _are you okay?! Never scare me like that again, ever!_ " when he sees one. It's a relief, because the kids are gesturing at him now. Probably explaining who he is. He would be more concerned about the shield-user approaching, but his vision is going in and out. Leaning against the wall is a great idea. Using it to slide into a seated position is even better.

Mitigates the chances of further head injury, when he blacks out.


	2. Chapter 2

Steve had started running the second he saw the twins' fellow escapee slip down the wall. The man eerily reminded him of the survivors of the 107th after they got out of the Hydra camp: hurt, thin, dehydrated, and still determined. Steve isn't a professional, but Sam is only half a step behind him.

"I don't see anything immediately life threatening, but we should get him on an IV ASAP." Bucky is behind them, in case some Hydra flunky isn't as unconscious as they seem. Steve wonders what he would do without the two of them. He's self-aware enough to know it would be bad.

"His name's Genma." Wanda had come up next to them, "He got us out. Protected us."

"Hey kid, it's not your fault, okay?" Sam always knows what to say. "Some of these injuries are days old. He's just strained himself too far. Can you help me get him to the jet?" Sam gives Steve a look, to let him know that they'll handle getting the man settled. A glance at Clint shows he's got Pietro. Kids taken care of, Steve turns his attention towards the rest of the team and the Hydra base.

"Stark, can you figure out what the hell Hydra was doing here?"

"Am I the smartest person in the room? Don't answer that. It's rhetorical and the answer is obvious."

"Good. Thor stick with him please."

"What?! I do not need a babysitter!"

"Not a babysitter; backup. We haven't cleared the base yet, Stark."

"Come Man of Iron! Let us hunt the evil of this locality so we may destroy it at its source!"

"Alright, alright. Just don't fry the computers this time Point Break." Stark wanders off.

Steve can see that Sam and Wanda are getting Genma to the jet. Then he moves to help Natasha restrain the unconscious Hydra foot soldiers. Bucky follows.

Sam didn't tell Steve, but the guy – Genma – isn't doing well. He didn't lie, there's nothing immediately life-threatening, but dehydration and malnutrition aren't what Sam is worried about. Genma's ribs are cracked, his fingers need to be splinted, and Sam wants to make sure he doesn't have complications from what looks to be repeated head trauma.

Sam is a field-medic and a counselor; he keeps people alive long enough to get to a real doctor, then he helps them recover. Knowing Dr. Banner was waiting on the quinjet was a relief. It had been hard to convince Dr. Banner to stay back and stay _calm_ while rescuing the twins, but it was worth it now. Bruce Banner may have a [few] PhD[s] instead of a MD, but he's got the training and enough practice to qualify. Sam would rather have Dr. Banner check him over than a whole medical team at a hospital.

He had actually said that once, and Dr. Banner had blushed a red as bright as the Hulk's green.

With the twins safely napping in the next room, watched over by the best sniper in the world, Sam and Dr. Banner can focus on the young man who freed them. Dr. Banner _– "call me Bruce,_ please _Sam"_ – agreed with his assessment of their patient. Right now, he's using a Stark Industries handheld scanner – _"Tony, did you make me a_ tricorder _!?"_ – to check Genma for internal bleeding, especially in the brain.

"This is odd." Too much experience has told Sam that it rarely ends well when scientists use that tone.

"Odd bad?"

"No, he's going to be okay once we get some nutrients into him, but I'd like to do a full MRI. The tricorder doesn't have the power to give me a more in-depth analysis. I'll have to ask Tony about auxiliary power sources…"

"Then what's odd?" Keeping scientists on track should not be in Sam's job description.

"Oh right. It looks almost like there's activity in what should be an unused portion of the brain."

"Meaning?"

"We could be looking at someone with powers like the twins."

It makes sense. Hydra is obsessed with the 'new world order' and all that BS. Kidnapping some poor guy with unusual talents is exactly something they would do. A terrifying thought occurs to Sam, that Genma might not have had those abilities before Hydra got ahold of him.

It takes a second, but Sam realizes he's spiraling into what-ifs that aren't helpful. Dr. Banner is just suggesting the young man _might_ have abilities, not proving one way or the other. Getting himself back on track, Sam refocuses on the patient's well-being.

"What about his fingers and ribs?"

"You splinted his fingers well and his ribs aren't displaced."

"Good." If they had been displaced, Genma would have required surgery.

It takes Steve longer than he'd have liked to get everything settled at the Hydra base. Rounding up prisoners and turning them over to SHIELD, then debriefing is always a chore. But he gets it done, with Bucky shadowing him the whole way.

They used to do this during the war. Take out a Hydra base, free prisoners, gather any information of value, round up the thugs, etc. Steve wonders what Sam would say about _this_ making him nostalgic. Probably something sensible and accepting.

As if his thoughts summoned the man, Sam comes round the corner. Not like Steve was intentionally searching for him or anything.

"How are the twins?" They'd been in Clint's care, last Steve saw.

"They're asleep for now. Wanda wants to be woken up when Genma does."

"How is he doing?" Steve had tracked the kids' path back through the base to their cell. They had left a pretty clear trail of Hydra foot-soldiers. Those thugs also told a lot about the fighting ability of their opponents. Or at least, their injuries did. Most of the Hydra agents looked like they got on Natasha's bad side, not like they fought the twins.

"I have him sedated and on an IV right now. As long as he doesn't strain his ribs or fingers, he'll recover quickly." Sam gets that expression that means one of the team is doing something weird and Sam is reevaluating being the resident 'normal-person.' "Dr. Banner found something – and I quote – 'odd' on the scans."

"Bad odd or good odd?" It never bodes well when a scientist uses that word.

"You know, I said damn near the same thing." Sam doesn't look _that_ concerned though. "Neutral odd. Our guest may have abilities like the twins. I figure it's why they grabbed him."

It makes sense. Steve has to resist the urge to go check on Bucky. Bucky is completely safe and is monitoring the situation at the Hydra base through JARVIS.

"Can you tell how long they had him?" If Hydra was trying to recreate the Winter Soldier…

"Assuming the age of his bruises mark the beginning of capture, I'd say they grabbed him three days ago. Except I'm pretty sure he's got accelerated healing." Sam looks disconcerted again.

"How can you tell?" Steve's not sure he actually wants to know.

"Wanda says he aligned his broken and dislocated fingers right before breaking them out." They share a cringe born of experience. "On the x-rays, it looks like they've had a few days to begin the healing process."

"What does that mean for him?"

"Again, you'd need to talk to Dr. Banner for specifics, but it means that he's probably been there closer to a week."

"At least they didn't have the poor guy longer." But it does get Steve thinking.

"Oh no. You've got the face."

"Face, what face? I do not do a face."

"Steve, you always do a face when you know something you think is too horrifying to say out loud."

"I do not."

"The Winter Soldier is your best friend and trying to kill us? Face. Hydra infiltrated SHIELD? Face. Clint took the last of Stark's coffee? Face. Somebody messed with Natasha's stuff? Face."

Steve has to laugh a little. Sam has a point. Everyone who knows him says he's normally pretty easy to read. Doesn't mean he can't clean up at poker though. It surprises Stark every time, which is hilarious.

"Alright, alright. I have a face."

"Yes you do. Now take your face and tell me what's causing it."

"Inside that base, it looks like the guards pissed off Nat. And they were like that before we got there." Steve doesn't want to say it, but somebody has to. "If Hydra didn't teach someone to fight like that, who did?"

"Shit." Sam hadn't thought of that. He hadn't wanted to think about that. His life was so much less complicated before some overachieving troll came running into his life with an _"on your left."_ Sam honestly wouldn't change it for the world. Today at least.

Having Hydra out there is bad enough, but an unknown organization with the resources to train someone up to Natasha's level? There's no way that's going to end well.

"Maybe we're jumping to conclusions. He could be law enforcement for some sort of overseas SHIELD equivalent."

"I hope so. We'll have JARVIS comb the databases."

"I have taken the liberty of beginning that search, Captain Rogers." The voice from above surprised Sam the same way it always did.

"Thanks JARVIS." The pararescue-turned-superhero-wrangler had seen too many movies to risk being rude to the excessively powerful AI. Also, the Ultron Scare was pretty bad. Even Stark had agreed to talk about the resulting nightmares. Though Sam had had to recommend him to a friend who has experience in the unusual and a willingness to be discrete. Trying to be a friend, coworker, and counselor would not end well for anyone's mental health. "Any progress?"

"At this time, there aren't any matches for facial recognition, I'm widening parameters as we speak."

"Thank you, JARVIS." Steve's just as polite, pretty much all the time. To everyone who hasn't given him a reason to be otherwise.

"If we're lucky, we can get him back to the people who are missing him." Sam aims for optimism. It doesn't always help, but it doesn't hurt either.

"We can hope." Steve doesn't seem all that hopeful; after spending weeks in each other's' pockets chasing a ghost, they don't keep up pretenses anymore. "What are you out here for anyway? I thought I'd have to drag you away from your patient."

Sam has to admit that's happened before. He tends to get tunnel vision when people are hurt. After a mission, Sam will triage everyone and go down the line till he's certain everyone is okay. There was an adjustment period for everyone when Sam and Steve brought Bucky back a couple months after the Hydra-SHIELD Incident.

The file dump had contained a lot of information, and Stark had gone through everything he found interesting or relevant. Whatever he had found about the Winter Soldier had horrified him. Apparently, the various organizations that had Barnes had thoroughly documented what was done to him and what he was made to do. Including the assassination of Stark's parents. Sam had spent a while as the buffer between Stark and Steve, since Steve was being a buffer between Bucky and everyone else. It had taken a while for Stark to balance the emotional response to his parents' killer to intellectually understanding that he was a tortured and coerced POW.

Aside from that major conflict, there had been awkward clashing as everyone settled into their new situation. Clint and Natasha were wary of everything after SHIELD was discovered to have been so corrupt. Bringing in a legendary assassin – even if he was something of a friend – had left them downright jumpy. Steve had to go from being a paired operator on a long-term mission to a tactical leader who intermediated with trustworthy remnants of SHIELD. Dr. Banner was suddenly dealing with new people and feeling like his niche had been taken.

On their Bucky Hunt (Sam had called it that to mess with Steve and it had stuck), Sam had taken to patching them (including Natasha whenever she dropped by) up when they needed it. Extending that to the rest of the Avengers seemed natural. At first, Sam hadn't realized he had kind of stolen Dr. Banner's job until Stark made a comment. He had gone to Dr. Banner's lab and apologized to the (very embarrassed) man. They had quickly come to an understanding. In the immediate aftermath of a mission, Sam had the most experience with triage and basic care. Since transitioning back from the Hulk took so much out of Dr. Banner, Sam could take care of the team in the meantime. Any long-term physical care would be handled by Dr. Banner and for mental health concerns, Sam would make the judgment call. Sometimes the individual just needed a friend to listen and other times Sam recommended a specialist he knew.

Even Sam talked to someone. The team had quickly gotten into the habit of pointing Steve at Sam after a bad mission, when someone had been hurt badly or enemy fire had gotten a bit too close, or when Sam had been at someone's bedside for way too long. Sam didn't know whether he should be annoyed at being so easily read, or flattered that they cared so much.

Sam had had other difficulties. He had months of experience in reading Steve and calling him on his BS. Suddenly he was trying to be more of a second in command than a partner. 2ICs solve a unit's problems before they get big enough to bother the commanding officer with. 2ICs also don't disagree with their CO in public, and they definitely don't say the CO is being stupid. He had also found himself trying to step back and give Steve and Barnes space. Trying to solve problems had always been his thing, but Sam had been trying to balance too much.

 _Barnes_ had actually made Steve sit down with Sam and Stark to talk everything out. It had been so awkward and if Sam had to ever do that again, it would be too soon.

In the end it was worth it. In the field, Steve's tactical genius and experience put him in command. Out of the field, especially in the political arena, Stark would pull the strings. The Avengers could hide behind Captain America's reputation and the government pretended they had a say in what the Avengers did.

"Well," Sam redirects himself back to the conversation, "I can't so anything else in there, and Dr. Banner has everything covered if there's an emergency, so I thought I'd get some clean clothes that would fit our guest."

"Yeah, I suppose he's about your size." Steve's brow is furrowed the way he is when something personal is bothering him.

"What's wrong?"

"It's just," Steve hesitated, "wait until he wakes up to offer them to him?"

"Of course, why?"

"Waking up in uncertain territory to find someone has changed your clothes is not reassuring."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Sam can tell this is personal, and he has a very bad feeling.

"When I first woke up in SHIELD, they had the room set up like a SSR hospital room."

Sam does his standard 'there is nothing wrong with how you feel' look.

"Everything was slightly off. The fabric on the sheets was too soft, the paint color was off, the 'nurse' didn't respond right. But the worst part," he shudders, "knowing that somebody – possibly the enemy – changed my clothes while I was unconscious."

"You thought Hydra had you." Sam let's his honest feelings into the words; all the righteous indignation and painful understanding.

"Yeah."

Sam hugs him. His mama always said, _'hugs may not solve everything, but they come damn close.'_

"Captain Rogers," JARVIS speaks from overhead, "I was to inform you when Sir and Prince Thor returned. They have just landed."

"Right," Steve takes a deep breath and pulls himself together, "I'll go see them. Thank you, JARVIS."

Sam lets him go, and makes note to keep an eye on him.


	3. Chapter 3

Genma wakes up the way he was trained: with no change in position, breathing, or heartbeat. He's in the same clothes he passed out in, but his sandals, pouches, and vest aren't on him. The surface under him is soft but firm, with a smooth texture, and smell of a disinfectant soap. A hospital bed. The beeping sound timed to his heartbeat, IV in his arm, and dulled pain support his reasoning. Listening carefully, Genma can hear someone young (the kids? Maybe Pietro; he hasn't heard the boy's voice before) whispering nearby but not in the same room. There is at least one person with the kids, and one person moving around the room Genma is in. Knowing Chouza-sensei would lecture him about the proper treatment for chakra-strain (which can easily turn into chakra-exhaustion); he doesn't try to use his chakra, even though not knowing the exact positions and numbers of the people around him is driving him crazy.

Considering the assassin's last clear memories were of reaching the kids' allies, Genma lets himself believe that his situation has improved.

It's that hope that leads him to open his eyes. It is a large room, and Genma can see three other beds but no other patients. There is a man he doesn't recognize wearing a labcoat, looking at a clipboard. He's either a doctor or a scientist. Given Genma remembers what Orochimaru was like before he abandoned the village, he hopes to kami the man is a doctor. The man seems tired.

Tilting his head the other way – and that is exhausting and makes everything seem to swim – Genma can see an open doorway. While his angle is wrong for him to see into the adjoining room, he can hear Wanda. She sounds relieved.

The man in the labcoat notices that he is awake, and comes over to Genma's side. The man tries to tell him something, but it makes no more sense than anything his captors had said. Seeing his incomprehension the hopefully-a-doctor tries what seems to be another language. Genma shakes his head in a negative response. The stranger tries several more times, each not making the slightest bit more sense, until he hits on something that sounds close.

Genma responds with a gesture he hopes conveys that it almost makes sense.

By this time, the people in the next room have noticed what's going on. Genma's bedside is soon crowded on the other side by Wanda, Pietro, and their not-sensei. Even knowing he shouldn't, Genma props himself up in a sitting position. He hates feeling surrounded, especially when he's vulnerable. Genma's arms shake and his head swims, and he would be falling backward except the maybe-doctor gets an arm behind his shoulders and catches him.

Not in any position to push away the support, Genma doesn't flinch away from the unfamiliar touch. The doctor (and he must be a doctor, to look that grumpy about a patient doing something ill-advised) hits the control to angle the bed and says something that has Pietro jolt into action. Faster than Genma's eyes can currently follow, Pietro moves and returns to his original positions, and Genma is leaning against rearranged pillows.

After taking a moment to readjust to being nearly vertical, Genma gestures to Pietro and Wanda reaching out with his mind in the way he would for a Yamanaka. She seems to catch his meaning because the tone of her response and her gestures indicate that the kids are okay. Reassured, he faces her and gestures from the doctor to the not-sensei.

For a moment Wanda doesn't understand what Genma is getting at – asking really, if what she feels of his mind is any indication. But then it clicks for her and she nearly blushes. He's in a hospital bed surrounded by strange people; of course he wants an introduction!

"This is Bruce, and this is Clint." She says, gesturing from one teammate to the other.

"Bruce," he repeats and points, "Clint?" Each man nods in turn; Bruce giving an awkward wave as he checks her savior's vitals, then Clint announcing a cheery, "Nice to meet you."

Genma's accent isn't quite like any she's familiar with, which reminds her,

"Did you have any luck with languages?"  
"Not really," Bruce says, "Japanese seemed to get a reaction, but I only know a few words and I don't think I was understood."

Wanda watches him go back to checking Genma over, and asks, "Is he okay?"

"He will be," Bruce pauses for a moment before turning to face Genma.

"Genma? Three of your fingers are broken -" He says softly, gently tapping the knuckles above splinted fingers, then harshly shaking his head no, "- and two were dislocated," tapping followed by holding his hand horizontally and tilting it from side-to-side in a so-so gesture. Wanda cringes as she remembers the noise his hands made when Genma set them.

"Four of your ribs are broken," Bruce continues pointing at Genma's torso instead of tapping, but shaking his head again, "and six are bruised." Bruce finishes by pointing and gesturing again. Wanda cringes again, hearing the full list of her savior's injuries for the first time. She shares a glance with her brother.

Genma had watched Bruce intently, and tried to nod in understanding only to grimace in pain.

"Careful," Bruce gently catches Genma's wrist – to prevent Genma from hurting his fingers by instinctively bringing the hand up to his head – and directs it back to his side, "you also had a couple head injuries in the last few day." Barely grazing his fingers over two spots on Genma's head – one on the side, and one on the back – and following up with the so-so gesture.

Genma gives a quiet verbal response with a tone of understanding.

Wanda watches as Genma carefully looks at each of them then comes to a decision,

"Clint." He says, looking directly at the sniper, and then Genma gestures to his eyes, followed by pointing at each of the twins. It only takes a moment for them to understand.

"Yeah," Clint laughs, "I'll keep an eye on them."

"Hey," Pietro interjects, sounding jokingly insulted, "we don't need babysitting!"

"Correction, _I_ don't need babysitting." Wanda says, joining in.

Pietro mock-pouts and everyone laughs. Genma relaxes further into the pillows at the teasing – understanding the tone if not the words.

Wanda desperately wants to hover over him and ask questions – to ask where he comes from, to tell him they're safe now, to thank him – but he's hurt and they don't have a language in common. (Anyway, how do you thank a man who helped you and your baby brother escape your nightmares?) Just as she's burying her frustration in favor of pulling up a chair next to Genma's hospital bed, the door to the infirmary opens.

Genma watches as this new person enters the room. The man is exceptionally tall and muscular, and blond. Sure there are shinobi that are tall; Gai is the first to come to mind, but he's a rarity and is greatly above average height. Most shinobi also don't have that sort of build, preferring to training for speed and flexibility. Blond hair is a rarity outside the Yamanaka, who are almost entirely average height with a slim build. (Like with most things, Minato-sama was an exception. And the sweet little boy whose always running around, with Kushina-sama's attitude and Minato-sama's face. Not that he was allowed to follow that thought to its obvious conclusion.)

"Greetings, friend-Genma! Our thanks for your actions in saving our shield-siblings!" The first thing that registers is the volume, which makes Genma's head throb. The second thing is that this stranger's manner of speech reminds him of Gai. The last thing (which would have been the first thing, if he wasn't concussed and drugged) is that Genma actually understood what the guy said. For the first time in a week.

"You speak my language?" A second later Genma nearly kicks himself for stating the obvious, but he'll give himself a pass on this one.

"We Asgardians have the All-Speak: we understand all, and are understood by all."

As far as kekkei-genkai go, it's not the weirdest Genma has seen. The rest of the room seems confused. If they all speak the same language, it probably never came up. Everyone is talking at once though and it's too loud right now. He feels Wanda brush against his mind (like a hand against his forehead to check for a fever), right before she says something that quiets the room.

"The young sorceress would like me to convey her thanks for your assistance in their escape from our foul enemies." The man says, at a much lower volume than before.

"Please tell her that I'm glad they're okay."

The man repeats what Genma said, and everyone else must hear it in their own language, because to Genma it sounds totally the same. But Genma thinks by the feel of Wanda's mind, she already knows what he meant. It's like a pat on the shoulder. Pietro says something this time.

Genma notices the kid is doing much better, now that he's out of enemy territory. In response to Pietro's comment, the big guy starts talking again.

"My deepest apologies for my lack of manners. I am Thor, son of Odin and Freya, Prince of Asgard and shield-brother to my fellow Avengers." Genma infers that he's a clan heir and apparently a member of some sort of elite guard. He replies in kind, as courtesy demands.

"Genma Shiranui, a shinobi of Konohagakure no Sato in the Land of Fire. Nice to meet you." They've already seen Konoha's insignia on his bandana, so there's no point in hiding his allegiance. Anyway, Genma has the feeling he is very far from anyone who knows its meaning.

JARVIS had notified everyone the minute the twins' rescuer woke up. Unfortunately, Steve had been trapped in debrief with Fury and Nat. By the time it was over, the man had gone back to sleep. Steve had checked with Sam and Bruce; apparently the best thing for their guest at this point is rest, so it isn't too concerning.

Pietro and Clint were sitting with Genma now, in case he needed anything. The two of them had video feed to the conference room so they could be kept in the loop.

Stark had come up from his lab or wherever he went with the data pulled from the Hydra base.

"Any luck figuring out where Genma came from?"

It's JARVIS who answers. "There are no individuals in any database above a forty-two percent match."

"What's the closest?" Sam looks resigned, but hopeful. Steve is uncomfortably used to that expression.

"A man fitting his general description was reported missing from Portland, Oregon two weeks ago."

"Well, given this guy doesn't even recognize English, it's safe to say that's not our kid."

"Indeed Captain, the picture on the missing persons report is also not a match."

"What about the foreign intelligence agent angle?" Bucky contributes.

"My contacts have been… touchy since the remainder of SHIELD went underground," Nat admits, "but no one seems to be missing anyone that sounds like Genma. Clint?"

" _No luck on my end either."_ The archer voice announces from the screen on the wall. Clint and Pietro are using some of Stark's earpieces to keep volume low in the infirmary.

"So we have no idea where this man came from." Steve resigns himself to long arguments with Fury about potential security breaches.

"I admit I know little about the peoples of your realm," Thor says with a solemn thoughtfulness that reminds Steve that the man is both a prince and older than all of them combined, "but the young warrior called his home the Village Hidden in the Leaves in the Land of Fire."

"The Land of Fire? Village Hidden in…?" Steve knew it was going to be one of those days.

"Makes as much sense as anything," Stark says, snacking on something, "given he's from another dimension."

When did Steve's life get so crazy that alternate dimensions sounded logical? Sam apparently agrees, if the muttered curses are any indication.

"He does have the look of one pulled across the branches of Yggrasil." Thor also agrees, maybe, whatever that means?

"How did he get here and how do we send him back?"

"Hydra was researching dimensional energy, trying to create something like the Einstein-Rosen bridge. They wanted to use it to teleport strike forces if not whole armies." Stark fiddles with his tablet and pulls something up on the screen. "They had a prototype and I think it worked better than they expected."

A video plays. On the screen, a Hydra scientist (Steve has very mixed feelings about labcoats these days) narrates that this is the third test of the prototype. She also says something technical that Steve doesn't understand, but has Bruce whispering to Stark. The device in the background is turned on and a whirling, glowing sphere slowly grows from the size of a marble to the size of a fridge. Stark fast-forwards through a few minutes of testing. "Here's where it gets good."

The scientist starts freaking out. Lights are flashing and Steve hears shouting that basically amounts to ' _turn it off! Turn it off! TURN IT OFF!_ ' And then, a person falls from the sphere. They land in a crouch and look around. For a split second, Steve sees utter shock on the face of Genma Shiranui before his expression falls into a determined blankness that Steve has seen on countless soldiers and agents over the years. In the ensuing struggle – which Genma had seemed to be winning – the camera gets knocked over and broken.

"From their notes, the teleporter shouldn't have worked," Stark announces, "but I could recreate it or improve it given a free weekend or two."

"Alright, Stark is in charge of figuring that out. Now what else do we know about him?" Steve looks between Bruce and Nat for this part.

"His hands have the callouses and scars of someone who works with blades." Nat starts, "From the footage of their escape, he's very well trained both in lethal and nonlethal combat. I suspect medic training as well, given the way he fixed his hands and the areas of the body he targets."

"From his x-rays and the scars I've seen," Bruce adds, "he's been injured on a semi-regular basis since he was young. His MRIs demonstrate the kind of energy and brain activity typical of those with abilities."

"Genma made things explode during the escape, and he's never surprised or afraid when I reach for his mind." Wanda contributes.

"The footage wasn't clear enough to see how he did that. Some kind of tech?" Stark interjects.

" _Genma drew a pattern on whatever he was blowing up, then he made a sign with his hands._ " Pietro says.

"Well, what did he draw it with? If the ink had certain chemical properties…"

"There wasn't any ink." Wanda stops him, voice going cold. "There wasn't any ink, because he used his blood."

Everyone contemplates that for a moment.

"Dr. Banner, we can take that as confirmation of an ability." Bucky speaks up with his usual level of dark humor.


End file.
